American Patriot (The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day)

During the course of his military career, through World War II, Korean, and then Vietnam, Bud Day received every available combat medal, escaped death on no fewer than seven occasions, and spent sixty-seven months as a POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, where his roommate was John McCain. Despite incredible torture, Day would not break. He became a hero to POWs everywhere--a man who fought without pause, a prisoner at war.

But Day's story didn't end when he returned home from Vietnam. In fact, in some ways, it was just beginning. He became a passionate advocate for veterans' rights, a hero to those who served their country so bravely and selflessly. And when theClinton Administration cut veterans' medical benefits, Bud Day knew that--however weary his bones, however aged his comrades--it was time to suit up for a new battle, this time against an opponent he had never expected to face: the United States government.


"Superb....[Coram] has researched thoroughly and written fluently and with sympathy for his subject, an authentic hero worthy of many books."--Booklist